Kew Gardens holds off challenge to win St. Leger

The girl could not quite beat the boys on Saturday at Doncaster Racecourse in England.

Favored filly Lah Ti Dar took a good long run at Kew Gardens in the Group 1 St. Leger Stakes, the last European classic race of the season, but Kew Gardens never wavered, bravely seeing out the testing 1 13/16 miles to post a 2 1/4-length victory.

It was the sixth St. Leger win for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who gave a leg up to jockey Ryan Moore, both men dashing off to a helicopter just after the race to make it to Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland for the Irish Champion Stakes later Saturday.

Lah Ti Dar came steadily on from the back of the field, but Kew Gardens had gotten first run and already had shown he has the stamina for 14-furlong races in the St. Leger’s range. Lah Ti Dar took her first loss in four starts but was easily second best, coming home more than four lengths in front of third-place Southern France.

Kew Gardens, the St. Leger’s strong second choice, ran his record to 5-2-2 from 12 starts. Three of those wins have come in his last four tries as Kew Gardens has settled into a role as a grinding, reliable staying type with plenty of class. By Galileo out of Chelsea Rose, by Desert King, Kew Gardens’s antepost price for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was cut after his St. Leger win but to date the colt hasn’t shown enough to suggest he could be a major player in the world’s top 1 1/2-mile race.

Too Darn Hot too darn good in Champagne

Too Darn Hot, Lah Ti Dar’s little brother, lived up to his hype winning the Group 2 Champagne Stakes a race before the St. Leger.

Frankie Dettori settled Too Darn Hot near the back of the field in the seven-furlong, straight-course Champagne before his mount delivered sizzling acceleration a quarter-mile out to take control.

Too Darn Hot, holding sway through the final 100 yards, won comfortably by 2 1/4 lengths over Phoenix of Spain, who had 2 1/2 lengths on Cardini.

Too Darn Hot, owned by Andrew Lloyd Weber and trained by John Gosden, is a 2-year-old colt by Dubawi and out of Lloyd Weber’s high-class racemare Dar Re Mi. He’s now 3 for 3 to start his career and surely is bound for a Group 1 this fall, though Gosden said no plan would be announced for 10 days.